Sigv Erlfl 2^I

Rakkr þengill hjó rekka;
reiðr gekk hann of skeiðar;
valr lá þrǫngt á þiljum;
þung vas sókn fyr Tungum.
Bragningr rauð fyr breiðan
borðvǫll Jaðar norðan;
blóð kom varmt í víðan
— vá frægr konungr — ægi.

Rakkr þengill hjó rekka; hann gekk reiðr of skeiðar; valr lá þrǫngt á þiljum; sókn fyr Tungum vas þung. Bragningr rauð {borðvǫll} fyr norðan breiðan Jaðar; varmt blóð kom í víðan ægi; frægr konungr vá.

The bold lord [Óláfr] cut down warriors; he walked enraged across the warships; the slain lay tightly packed on the boards; the attack off Tunge was heavy. The ruler [Óláfr] reddened {the plank-field} [SEA] north of broad Jæren; warm blood fell into the wide ocean; the renowned king [Óláfr] fought.

Mss: Kˣ(431r) (Hkr); Holm2(57v), J2ˣ(208r), 321ˣ(217), 73aˣ(178r), 68(57r), Holm4(55rb), 61(116rb), 325V(68va), 325VII(31v), Flat(119ra), Tóm(146v) (ÓH)

Readings: [1] þengill: dróttinn J2ˣ    [2] skeiðar: skeiðir 61, Flat, Tóm, skíðir 325V    [3] þrǫngt: so J2ˣ, 68, Holm4, þrǫng Kˣ, ‘þrꜹmt’ or ‘þrꜹnt’ Holm2, þykkt 321ˣ, 325V, þykkr 73aˣ, ‘þraunt’ 61;    þiljum: þilið J2ˣ    [4] þung: ‘þrung’ Flat;    vas (‘var’): varð Holm2, J2ˣ, 73aˣ    [5] rauð: hjó 321ˣ, 73aˣ;    fyr: í J2ˣ;    breiðan: blóði J2ˣ, bræddan 68, breiðum 61, Flat, Tóm    [6] borð‑: ‘bor‑’ 325VII    [7] kom: fell J2ˣ;    í: á J2ˣ, 321ˣ, 61, Flat, Tóm

Editions: Skj AI, 244, Skj BI, 229, Skald I, 119, NN §639; Hkr 1893-1901, II, 404, IV, 155, ÍF 27, 314-15, Hkr 1991, II, 482-3 (ÓHHkr ch. 176); ÓH 1941, I, 482 (ch. 172), Flat 1860-8, II, 309; Jón Skaptason 1983, 114, 261-2.

Context: Erlingr’s troops fall as the king fights fiercely.

Notes: [1-4]: The helmingr is in the verse-form called áttmælt ‘eight-times spoken’, in which each line is an independent clause; see SnSt Ht 10^III and Context. Cf. Note to st. 3/1-4 below. — [2]: Cf. Ólhelg Lv 7/6 Ek gekk reiðr of skeiðar ‘I walked enraged across the warships’, describing the same incident in the 1st pers. — [4] fyr Tungum ‘off Tunge’: Tunge is located on the end of the peninsula Tungeneset in Boknafjorden, just north-west of Stavanger, Rogaland. — [5, 6] fyr norðan breiðan Jaðar ‘north of broad Jæren’: Skj B links the adj. breiðan ‘broad’ with the kenning borðvǫll ‘plank-field [SEA]’ but, as Kock points out (NN §639), this separates the prep. fyr from the phrase it governs. The adj. is appropriate to Jæren, part of Rogaland and a large, flat, lowland area.

References

1. Bibliography
2. Skj B = Finnur Jónsson, ed. 1912-15b. Den norsk-islandske skjaldedigtning. B: Rettet tekst. 2 vols. Copenhagen: Villadsen & Christensen. Rpt. 1973. Copenhagen: Rosenkilde & Bagger.
3. Skald = Kock, Ernst Albin, ed. 1946-50. Den norsk-isländska skaldediktningen. 2 vols. Lund: Gleerup.
4. NN = Kock, Ernst Albin. 1923-44. Notationes Norrœnæ: Anteckningar till Edda och skaldediktning. Lunds Universitets årsskrift new ser. 1. 28 vols. Lund: Gleerup.
5. Flat 1860-8 = Gudbrand Vigfusson [Guðbrandur Vigfússon] and C. R. Unger, eds. 1860-8. Flateyjarbók. En samling af norske konge-sagaer med indskudte mindre fortællinger om begivenheder i og udenfor Norge samt annaler. 3 vols. Christiania (Oslo): Malling.
6. ÓH 1941 = Johnsen, Oscar Albert and Jón Helgason, eds. 1941. Saga Óláfs konungs hins helga: Den store saga om Olav den hellige efter pergamenthåndskrift i Kungliga biblioteket i Stockholm nr. 2 4^to med varianter fra andre håndskrifter. 2 vols. Det norske historiske kildeskriftfond skrifter 53. Oslo: Dybwad.
7. ÍF 26-8 = Heimskringla. Ed. Bjarni Aðalbjarnarson. 1941-51.
8. Hkr 1893-1901 = Finnur Jónsson, ed. 1893-1901. Heimskringla: Nóregs konunga sǫgur af Snorri Sturluson. 4 vols. SUGNL 23. Copenhagen: Møller.
9. Hkr 1991 = Bergljót S. Kristjánsdóttir et al., eds. 1991. Heimskringla. 3 vols. Reykjavík: Mál og menning.
10. Jón Skaptason. 1983. ‘Material for an Edition and Translation of the Poems of Sigvat Þórðarson, skáld’. Ph.D. thesis. State University of New York at Stony Brook. DAI 44: 3681A.
11. Internal references
12. (forthcoming), ‘ Heimskringla, Óláfs saga helga (in Heimskringla)’ in Diana Whaley (ed.), Poetry from the Kings’ Sagas 1: From Mythical Times to c. 1035. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 1. Turnhout: Brepols, p. . <https://skaldic.org/m.php?p=text&i=152> (accessed 26 April 2024)
13. Russell Poole (ed.) 2012, ‘Óláfr inn helgi Haraldsson, Lausavísur 7’ in Diana Whaley (ed.), Poetry from the Kings’ Sagas 1: From Mythical Times to c. 1035. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 1. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 526.
14. Kari Ellen Gade (ed.) 2017, ‘Snorri Sturluson, Háttatal 10’ in Kari Ellen Gade and Edith Marold (eds), Poetry from Treatises on Poetics. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 3. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 1115.